Subtle
by Sorrel
Summary: Five times Daniel cock-blocks Jack and Jack doesn't mind . Jack/Daniel slash, spoilers for season 7.


**Subtle.** Or, five times Daniel cock-blocked Jack (and he didn't mind).

* * *

The call came in while he was sitting at the bar.

"What?" he snapped, since the blonde with the spectacular rack sitting next to him was looking piqued at the interruption, and seemed more than willing to turn her sights elsewhere.

"I can't find the report of P3X-5769."

Only Daniel. "I'm off-duty," Jack said. The blonde's ears all but perked up, and Jack hid a smile behind his beer as she started to turn back towards him and away from the prettyboy on her right. "You'd be too if you had an ounce of common sense."

Which was probably unfair. Jack couldn't blame him for his work ethic, since it had saved all their asses on several occasions. But he resented having his downtime fucked up by Daniel's driving need for… whatever. Validation, maybe. Or the key to the big cosmic puzzle. He knew that it must bite the big one, knowing you'd held all the answers in the palm of your glowy little hand and remembering not a damn bit of it, but enough was enough.

"But I'm almost done with the translation of the tablet from the Temple on High, and I need my notes on the Delirnan language and they're in that report because you stole all my paperwork before I had a chance to back it up for my own files."

He managed to say that all with one breath, and Jack wanted to be impressed, he really did. But the blonde was losing patience fast, and so was Jack. "Daniel," he said, and used his best Jack O'Neill, Master Commander, voice. "Go home."

Not that that had ever worked on Daniel. "Jack…" he not-quite-whined.

"Oh, fer cryin' out loud, okay. It's in my desk."

Pause. "You have a desk?"

"Ha ha," he said dryly. "Yes, Daniel, I have a desk. An office, even. It's three doors down from General Hammond, and the report is in the right-hand drawer in the folder labeled 'missionary position.'"

"Cute, Jack. And I know where your office is. But there's not a chance in hell that anyone's going to find that desk under all the crap you've got on it, so I don't think using funny names in your files is really going to stick it to the man."

Sulking, Jack shot back, "Good luck finding your report, then."

"Don't worry, Jack," Daniel said. "I'm an archaeologist."

He hung up, no goodbye, while Jack was still trying to think up a good comeback. Smarting over the one-up from his sneaky little bastard of a social scientist, it took him a minute to remember the blonde and look over. Blondie was talking to the prettyboy on her other side, leaning close with one hand on his arm, looking deep into his eyes. Prettyboy looked mesmerized, the lucky bastard. As well he should.

Jack gave it up for lost, paid for his drink, and headed home. He needed the sleep anyway.

* * *

"I'm sorry, _what_ did you say?"

Daniel looked back at him calmly, his expression tinged with just a hint of smugness. He was allowed to be smug, the bastard. He didn't have to-

"I said, we've got to tell them that we're married."

"I heard you the first time, Daniel, I just don't believe it."

The chieftain's son, who was dressed like a cabana boy, was standing across the room from them at his father's side, watching the four of them with fascination. And it wasn't Daniel's oh-a-new-culture-how-shiny fascination, either. This kid's smile was a lot less academic, and a low more down-and-dirty. It wasn't the first time some off-worlder had latched onto Jack (or any one of them, actually) and it wouldn't be the last, but it was still damn awkward, ever time it happened.

"Jack, it's an integral part of their culture. You're not considered an adult unless you're 'joined in marriage,' and only adults can enter the holy temple." Daniel's tone was incredibly pedantic, very dry and boring and blah blah blah, but Jack had learned years ago to tune out what Daniel said and how he said it and focus on actual content. The man could go on for hours if you let him.

"No, I believe you, I just don't _believe­- _oh, fuck it, let's just get this over with." He closed his eyes, trying not to picture General Hammond's face when he read this particular report. It wouldn't be the first time something like this had happened, not even a first for their team, but still. He just knew he was going to be finding wedding magazines in his inbox for _weeks_ after this. "Tell me the tech in that temple is worth it." At least the cabana boy might back off if they waved the m-word around enough. That was a bright side, right?

"It really is, sir." That was Carter, painfully earnest about her doohickies, even seven years and God knows how many losses and fuck-ups later. "The sonic weaponry that the Ancients left behind might potentially have the power to take down a mother ship, if I can just get in there and see how it works." Carter gave him her version of the puppy dog eyes, which almost always worked on him, curse it. Daniel lectured, Carter lectured and pleaded, and Teal'c gave him the eyebrow, but they all worked on him, made him cave like sugar in the rain. He had a great team, but Christ, he didn't have much control over them and he knew it. Good thing he'd learned to work around that, or they'd be dead ten times over.

But this technology… Well, it wasn't any Lost City, since the temple was hardly bigger than his house in the Springs, but they'd seen a demonstration of the weapon's power when it was used on the Jaffa that had come to call not five minutes after they came through the 'gate and it was impressive, to say the least. Daniel and Carter had worked out what was happening only seconds after the noise had hit their ears and had hustled him and Teal'c underwater in a jiffy, which had saved their eardrums but left them a little damp. The villagers had been so impressed with their quick thinking (and obvious aversion to Jaffa, despite the rather prominent gold seal on Teal'c's forehead) that they'd invited the whole team over for dinner, which had turned out to be a rather lavish feast. The cheerful chieftain had introduced them to his only son the cabana boy, whose gaze had immediately glommed onto Jack's (still soaking) BDU pants and hadn't really left since. A little awkward to try and negotiate that way, especially negotiating with the father, since the kid was all of fifteen if he was a day, and Jack felt like a dirty old man even_thinking_ about the kid thinking about it.

"And we have to get married to get at the tech," he said, sighing. "Sure we can't just shoot our way in?"

He'd meant it as a joke, but Daniel was the one who reacted like he'd been shot, taking a step back and starting to look a lot less smug and a lot more pissed off.

"_No,_ Jack. These people are unarmed, sure, so it's not like they're going to shoot us back, but they outnumber us ten to one at least and this is a diplomatic mission, in case you've forgotten. You can't just barge into these people's home and start waving a gun around; that would be-"

"Oh, stuff the lecture, Daniel," Jack cut him off. "I know. I was joking. Mostly," honestly compelled him to add. He wouldn't mind shooting that kid, just a little, if it meant getting his creepy teenage gaze _off_ of Jack for ten minutes.

"Oh," said Daniel. And just like that, his anger went away. That was both the good and the bad thing about Daniel- he could hold a grudge forever, but only if he felt you deserved it. Apparently, Jack was safe this time.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Alright, fine. We're pairing off. Carter, I'm afraid you're going to have to find another husband," he told her. She just nodded- they'd been down this route before, and the argument had been played out enough times that they both knew their lines. No, it wasn't because she was a woman and it wasn't because he didn't respect her, it was just because she was the only other person on his team who was actually his subordinate within the American military structure, and he didn't want the rumors to start flying around base, _again._ Yes, he knew she didn't need him protecting her. He was just doing it anyway.

"I'll try to contain my disappointment, sir," she said, looking more like she was trying to contain a smile. He sighed again. No respect, that's what he got. No respect anymore.

Ignoring the fact that he avoided that kind of respect and didn't know what the hell to do with it when he got it, he turned to Daniel and Teal'c. "Well, kids, it looks like one of you is about to become my lawfully wedded wife," he drawled. "Daniel? You up for the honor?"

Daniel was opening his mouth to say something, probably about the anthropological basis for marriage and why this was an important function and he shouldn't be joking about it, Jack, but Jack didn't get a chance to hear it because he caught sight of the cabana boy again, who was looking even more predatory. He wasn't entirely sure that Daniel could take him.

"On second thought," he said, admiring Teal'c's size anew, "Teal'c, I think it's your turn. Daniel, it looks like you and Carter are tying the knot. Everyone good? Excellent," he said, before they had a chance to answer yea or nay. It was safer that way, usually. "Chins up, kids, and keep your smiles on. It's your wedding day."

He saw the cabana boy heading their way, probably because they'd stopped talking for all of two seconds and he saw and opening, and he hastily grabbed Teal'c's huge hand. Teal'c bore the indignity with little more than a raised eyebrow- aimed in the kid's direction, which made him pale in fear and backpedal rapidly.

Behind him, he thought he heard Daniel growl a little, but it was probably because he was marrying Carter.

* * *

Tonight was Team Night, which thanks to Carter was turning into Bar Night. There weren't a lot of bars in the Springs, and thanks to that one time they were banned forever from O'Malleys (except Teal'c, of course) but Carter had managed to drag them to each and every one in quick succession, till she'd finally settled down here, a little hole-in-the-wall place that she swore had the best tequila you could get stateside.

It was a damn good thing they had two days leave, was all he was saying. Otherwise they'd be saving the galaxy with hangovers, and that was just asking for trouble.

It also didn't help that it wasn't just the four of them- Sam had hunted down some poor sap to baby-sit Cassie, and she'd dragged Janet out with the rest of them. Janet, Jack knew from past experience, could drink them all under the table, and _then_ take another couple of shots, just to show she could, before walking in a straight line right out that door. Even Teal'c didn't have a hope against her, or wouldn't if he drank alcohol, anyway. It never ceased to confuse the bartenders when the rest of them were downing shots like there was no tomorrow and there sat Teal'c, inscrutable as always with an extremely silly hat on, gravely sipping his soda water.

Yeah. He loved his people, but there was no doubt in his mind that they were crazy, every last one of 'em. Even him. Especially him.

Which didn't seem to faze the bartender any, since she was leaning across the bar top and showing the gifts God gave her with an extremely cheerful smile. Jack smiled back automatically, even as he mentally scrambled to remember what he was doing. He hadn't flirted with a pretty lady since… Well, since the last time he'd used his downtime for a bit of alcoholic rehab, and Daniel had called about some dumb-ass report and the lady in question lost interest.

Ah, well, fickle sirens and all that, and Jack was totally in the here-and-now, focused on the newest mistress of his heart, who in addition to being extremely pretty and at _least_ a C-cup, was also getting him drinks. Throw in some hot wings, and it was like a dream come true.

"Say, I don't suppose you make hot wings here, do you?" he asked, trying for a winning smile and probably falling about a mile short.

Or not, because she immediately grinned back at him and said, "For you? On the house."

Dream. Come. True.

Then Carter came up to his elbow, looking a little soft around the eyes and yet, still worried. "Sir? I think you should take a look at Daniel."

Jack closed his eyes. No, no, no. This was dream girl, right? Pretty, alcohol, hot wings. Daniel wasn't going to screw this up. Not again.

"Carter, I could have sworn that it was your job to watch out for Daniel," he said. "Remember Daniel? Can't drink to save his life?"

Carter blinked at him. "But that was beer," she said. "I thought he did fine with hard liquor."

"Well, _I've_ never seen him hold his drink," Jack said. "And that's why you were supposed to be watching him. Because he can't. Are you with me here?"

She just shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. "I'm just saying that maybe we should call a cab," she said. "Since it's a little too late. Kind of like shutting the barn door after the horse is gone. Sir," she added belatedly.

Apparently, Carter got feisty while she was drunk. Who knew. "Oh, forget the cab," he said. "I'll drive him home."

The bartender managed to look both winsome and disappointed. "I'm guessing that's a no on the hot wings," she said.

"That's a 'not right now,'" he said with a smile. "Trust me, I'll be back for those, so you just keep 'em warm for me."

"Will do," she smiled back, and wandered away, taking her breasts with her, to wait on another customer.

Jack sighed, and went to extract his archaeologist.

It didn't take all that long to make their goodbyes, since Daniel was just drunk enough to be tractable for a change. Carter and Janet didn't even look up when he dragged Daniel out of there, too busy whispering to each other and looking like Trouble with a capital T. (He really, really just- didn't want to know.) "C'mon, Daniel. If you're good I might even leave you a glass of water on your nightstand."

Daniel snorted as he fumblingly bucked himself into the passenger seat. "I'm taking my life into my hands letting you drive me home, and you're making fun? Cute, Jack. Real cute."

Jack didn't have to fake offense. "Hey now, I'm sober, unlike the rest of you troublemakers." Daniel sent him a disbelieving look, and Jack shrugged as he put the truck in drive. "Well, sober enough, anyway. I'm not gonna get us pulled over, if that's what you're worrying about."

"No, I'm more worried about you crashing us into a ditch," Daniel said with that overly-precise way he had when he was trying to pull off a proper insult and couldn't quite focus, and Jack had to suppress a smirk as he pulled onto the highway.

"Don't worry, Daniel. I won't take us into any ditches."

"You better not," Daniel grumbled childishly, and Jack's smile got a little wider. God, Daniel was so _cute_ like this. Jack only wished he had a camera, but Carter had strictly forbidden the presence of any kind of photographic or recording devices on their little outings. Still smarting over last time, probably. Oh, well. She'd get over it.

Eventually.

Silence fell for a little while, but was finally interrupted by Daniel's surprisingly true baritone. Jack tilted his head in surprise- other than the "Row, Row Your Boat" incident, where the recordings had stuck around for _years_ afterward, he'd never heard Daniel sing- but he stayed quiet for the moment, trying to figure out if he should interrupt or just let Danny do his thing.

"When I was a child, my family would travel, down to Western Kentucky, where my family was born. There's a backwards old town, often remembered, so many times that my mem'ries are worn."

Jack decided to keep quiet and store up the memory as blackmail material. Daniel rarely if ever remembered much of anything when he got to this stage of intoxicated, and Jack was looking forward to reminding him.

"Daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg country, down by the Green River where paradise lay. Well I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in askin', Mr. Peabody's coal train has hauled it away."

Jack waited through the rest of the song, and when Daniel trailed off on the last choral repetition, Jack smirked and said, "Didn't know you could sing, Danny-boy."

If Daniel caught the unintentional pun, he didn't say anything. "Everybody can _sing,_ Jack," he said with all drunken asperity.

"I can't."

"Well, not _well_, maybe, but sure. Everyone sings, even if they don't like to admit it. I could show you reams of studies on the anthropological significance of song in culture, but the basic fact is, everybody sings. Music is important to us as human beings."

"And how do all your anthropological studies account for the fact that you listen to John Denver?"

Daniel rolled his head sideways on the headrest and blinked over at Jack through the darkness of the cab. "I just like the song."

Uh-huh. A psychologist would have a field day with this conversation if he were in Jack's place. Jack just smiled to himself and made the turn onto Daniel's street.

"Alright, buddy, we're here. Time to get you in bed like any good little archaeologist." Otherwise Daniel's inevitable hangover was going to be truly epic, instead of merely skull-splitting.

Daniel looked at him for a moment, a lot longer than the question warranted. "You know what? No." He let out a long breath and shook his head. "I'm fine, Jack. You don't need to tuck me in." Daniel opened his door and all but poured himself onto the ground, remaining upright by sheer willpower and a white-knuckled death grip on the truck's open door. Jack shook his head fondly and unbuckled his seat belt.

"Yeah, right. C'mon, I'll walk you up to the door, at least."

"No, Jack." Daniel's voice was angry and oddly stubborn, for someone who was usually pretty suggestible when he was this smashed. "I'm fine. Go back to the bar, okay? That bartender looked pretty friendly. You don't need to baby-sit me anymore."

Jack stared at him for a long moment, fully recognizing the expression on Daniel's face. He'd dug his heels in, and if Jack tried to follow him up to make sure he made it safely inside, Daniel was going to kick up such a fuss that his neighbors would never let him hear the end of it. Simpler to let him do what he wanted, since God knows he always did.

"Alright, Daniel." He almost didn't recognize his own voice, the even, wary tones that used during first contact when he was expecting the natives to pull out weapons at any moment. "I'll see you Monday, okay?"

"Yeah," Daniel said, and shut the door, almost knocking himself over in the process. He put his head down and started making his slow, trudging way up the drive, and Jack was tempted to stick around and watch to make sure he made it safely there, but Daniel turned around and shot him a rather pointed glare, so with a shrug he put the truck in reverse and backed out of the driveway. He'd done his best, anyway.

He glanced in the rearview mirror as he was pulling away, though. Just in case.

Daniel strode up the steps, free and easy and without the overly-cautious movements of the catastrophically intoxicated, unlocked the door with a decided lack of fumbling with the keys, and went inside, kicking the door shut behind him. The slumped shoulders, shuffling footsteps, and wavering stride of before were magically gone.

_I thought he did fine with hard liquor,_ Carter had said. And thinking back, Jack couldn't remember a single time he'd seen Daniel drunk on anything but beer. Beer knocked him on his ass, sure, but he avoided the hard stuff so Jack had assumed it got him just as bad. But he'd put back Skaara's moonshine like it was water, and it hadn't affected him then. Why should tequila be any worse?

Weird, Jack thought. Even for Daniel, that was… odd.

He was so busy thinking about it, he headed home and was brushing his teeth before he remembered his intention of heading back to the bar. The bartender had been awfully cute…

Fuck it, he thought, and went to bed.

* * *

"This is Malek," Daniel said. Another mission to another planet with another bunch of extremely dubious natives who looked just as suspicious of Jack as he was of them. And Daniel was standing over next to them, in easy spear range if the aliens got testy and decided to whip one out. "He's their chieftain."

"Right. And who's the lovely lady standing next to him?" You ask Jack, the serene-looking blonde was even scarier than the hulking muscle-man Daniel was so cheerfully introducing. Muscles might be able to snap you in half, but Blondie was _creepy._ There was something off about her.

"That's Jirna, his wife," Daniel said. "She's the spiritual leader of their people. Malek is the secular leader."

Jack shook his head. "Religion and politics gettin' in bed together, it never ends well."

Daniel just barely suppressed his eye roll. "Jack."

"Daniel?"

"Jack."

"Okay, this is cute," Carter interrupted, "really, it is. But it's over a hundred degrees out here, and if nobody minds, can we cut to the chase? Before I broil?" Jack looked at her. She held his gaze for an irritated moment before dropping her eyes away. "Sir."

"Major Carter has a point," Teal'c said diplomatically. "I, too, am not enjoying the heat."

"That's what I was trying to say," Daniel said. "They've invited us back to their village for a welcoming feast."

Jack surveyed the "greeting party." "They don't look too welcoming to me."

"That's what the feast is for," Daniel said patiently. "So that they can get to know us and vice versa." While Jack thought about it, Daniel added persuasively, "I'm told they have a fairly advanced cooling system and plenty of cold drinks. If nothing else, Sam's right, and we should get out of this heat."

Jack was a leader. A Colonel in the United States Air Force. He'd been leading men on missions since he was younger than any of these smartasses, and he'd had this team under his command for seven years. And because of that, he pretty much knew when to quit while he was still ahead.

"Alright, fine. Daniel? Tell our hosts to lead the way."

They arrived at the village about fifteen minutes later. The villagers were already putting together the necessary ingredients for the feast- Christ, word traveled fast, how had they known that SG-1 was coming?- but at a closer glance, he could see that "feast" probably wasn't the best word. Oh, sure, they were probably offering their best to the visitors- but their best obviously wasn't all that much.

Jack thought back to the hot, arid stretch of grasslands, the shriveled-looking tree line that clustered around the 'Gate. Drought, he thought. It had to be. No wonder they were so grumpy about visitors- they probably knew just what a bad position they were in for trading, with so little to give and needing so much.

Luckily, Earth had a lot more resources than these people could possibly imagine, and the SGC wasn't interested in the kind of trading that they probably expected. This world didn't have any ruins that could potentially be the Lost City, but it did seem to be untouched by the Goa'uld, and therefore it would make a good safe haven in case of any emergencies. (Which, let's face it, happened pretty frequently. Especially to his team.)

They split off into groups pretty quickly, though Jack made sure that none of them wandered out of eyesight. Teal'c was drawn over to what looked like a group of grizzled hunters, with the accompanying spears and scars, while Carter was jabbering excitedly about the surprisingly advanced fans that were rigged up to an overwhelmed-looking scientist. Daniel was buried in a mountain of children, and seemed pretty happy about it. He'd once told Jack that children were the best source of language that he could imagine, because they were still young enough to be forming the same connections and intuitive leaps that he was struggling with, and their grasp of the language didn't assume the kind of background knowledge and understanding that he, as an outsider, wouldn't have. So that was his team, happy and doing their thing. About time to do his.

He ended up talking to Jirna, of course. He would've been happier with Malek, hands-down, and not just because the guy was, well, a guy. If he'd ever had that kind of bias, Carter would've beaten it out of him in her subtle, brainy way years ago. No, he would've preferred Malek because Jirna creeped him about, no two ways about it. There was something about the way she looked at him, that little smirk playing around the corners of her mouth- a little girl all grown up and still playing "I know something you don't know."

It didn't take long before she told him what it was.

"You can _read minds?_" Jack hissed, then looked around to make sure that none of his team could hear. "And, gee, it didn't occur to you to tell us until now?"

Jirna was undisturbed by his anger. "It is the way of my people," she said. "Sometimes people come through the Chappa'ai, and they mean us harm. They smile and they lie, but where their words might deceive us their minds cannot hide. I, like all my mothers before me, do my duty as a truth-teller for my people, so that none will deceive us any more."

As much as he wanted to argue with that, as much as their own deception pissed him off, he couldn't really argue with that. They'd been betrayed plenty of times. The only thing that really bothered him was- "And just how far can you see into our heads?"

"Surface thoughts, nothing more," she assured him. "Only what crosses your mind at the moment. Even then I can only read the loudest of thoughts, the strongest of emotions." She shrugged. "My mother was stronger, and her mother before her. The gift is fading. Soon we will be without defense."

His sympathy was a little limited, under the circumstances. He didn't like being spied on. "You'll still be able to defend yourselves," he said. "The rest of the universe manages to fumble along without invading people's private thoughts."

"Your people value privacy," she said, tilting her head like a curious bird. "Mine do not. Those who say what they think are the most valued, because they are honest. They will not lie. They will not betray."

This seemed to be a bit of a sticking point with her. He wondered what had happened to her people in the past for them to have such strong beliefs on the matter. "Well, on Earth it's a little different," he said, as diplomatically as he could. "We believe in trust. If you trust your friend, you believe that he will tell you what he wants you to know when he trusts you enough in return."

She blinked. "Then you cannot know your friends," she said.

"Yes, we can. Maybe we don't say everything we think, but we know the important things. All we gotta do is listen, and we can learn a lot more than you think."

She shook her head. "No, Colonel Jack O'Neill," she said. "_You_ do not know your friends." She reached out. "I will show you."

He leaned warily away from her seeking hands. "What the hell does that mean?"

"You will see," she said ominously, then she managed to get one hand to his temple and the world opened up.

He could feel little hot spots, gathered around the fire. _They are my people,_ she told him. _They have control over their minds. You do not need to see them._

He disagreed, since as far as he was concerned turnabout was fair play, but before he could pull towards them she directed him away and towards a bright, shiny spark off to the left.

_Your friend the woman warrior,_ she said. _What do you think of her?_

He opened his mouth, but before he had a chance to speak she pulled the information out of his head, all the jumbled impressions that crossed his mind in that split second before he would have answered. _You think she is doomed in her love with this man Pete,_ she said. _Let me show you._

She dragged him into Carter's mind, and no amount of mental heel-dragging slowed them down. He didn't want to do this. This was the worst invasion of Carter's privacy, he shouldn't see this-

_Gone gone gone she's gone_

Satisfied, Jirna released him. _It isn't Pete she loved._

"We have a policy on this kind of thing!" he snapped, careful to keep his voice down. "It's called Don't Ask Don't Tell. I'm her superior officer; I'm not supposed to know about this."

_You did not ask and she did not tell,_ she said. _But now you know._

"Great. I know that Carter was in love with another woman and lost her. How does that matter? It doesn't make her any different than it was before." Except now he understood why she'd been so angry all the time lately. They'd all been feeling Janet's loss, but now he knew why Carter was taking it harder than all of them, even Daniel. It made him feel inclined to cut her a hell of a lot more slack.

He could feel her surprise. _But you didn't know_, she said. _She was keeping it a secret._

"Yeah, and she was supposed to, so I sure as hell don't blame her for it. She's still the woman- the _soldier_- that I know."

_Fine,_ she said. _Perhaps this will change your mind._

This time she didn't pull him towards a spark. She pulled him towards a raging inferno.

Instinctively, he knew that it was Daniel, and he began to fight in earnest. "No," he said furiously. "This guy's my best friend, he's been through enough crap in his life for any ten people, I'm not gonna make it worse. It's just as bad as rape."

_See,_ she said inexorably, and pulled him in.

-_wonder where they were taken from. It seems to be Latin-based, but some of the words seem to be almost Asian in origin-_

"So he's a geek," Jack said through gritted teeth. "That's not exactly news."

_See,_ she said again, and went deeper.

_-what's she doing, they're standing pretty close, I hope she's not trying to seduce him because I don't know if I can pull off the marriage scam this soon after last time-_

"So he's looking out for me," Jack said, but he was less certain now and he knew it showed in his voice. "That's what a good friend does."

_This man is not your friend, Jack O'Neill,_ she said, and took him all the way in.

_love him love him love him_

Jack jerked back, reeling away from her touch and the knowledge that she'd given him. "What the hell?"

"This is what he was hiding from you," she said smugly. "This is why my people do not lie, do not hide, do not keep secrets. We know each other. Your people cannot say the same."

"You had no right," he growled. "_No right._"

"I had every right," she said. "You did not understand us. Now you do."

"You know what I understand, lady? I understand that you're a manipulative, power-hungry bitch."

"Perhaps," she said. "But I am a leader, and I must do what is best for my people, when my husband cannot." She cocked her head to the side and gave him a slow once-over, her gaze speculative. "I had hoped for a deeper alliance with you, Jack O'Neill."

"Not in a million fucking years," he said. "To hell with you, and to hell with this. We're out of here."

She jerked back, jarred by his words, and he bared his teeth in a smile. "That's right, Princess. Guess your mind-reading trick doesn't work as well as you thought, or you would've known that what you just did was a one-way ticket to Nowheresville. Good luck with your drought," he added, just to see the horror spread across her face, and then he turned and walked away. "Daniel, Teal'c, Carter, with me!"

They immediately got to their feet and followed him, probably hearing in his voice that something was wrong. "Sir?" said Carter.

"These people can't be trusted," Jack said. "Believe me. We're better off gettin' the hell out of here."

"Jack, these people are doing to starve if we don't help them." That was Daniel, of course, worried about everything but himself, just like always. Well, this time Jack was going to protect him- protect _them_- whether Daniel liked it or not.

"They'll con some other nice travelers out of some grain, but it's not going to be us," Jack said. "Believe me, Daniel. Those people can't be trusted."

Daniel looked at him for a long moment. "Alright," he said finally, and then let it drop, just like that. Daniel trusted him.

Daniel lo-

_No,_ he thought, and shut down his brain for the rest of the hike back to the 'Gate.

* * *

After the party was over and General Hammond had gone home to his grandkids and Carter had given Teal'c a ride back to the mountain and Daniel had stuck around to help him clean up, Jack stood by the door and held Daniel's coat and said, "Thanks, for what you did earlier. With Carter."

Daniel didn't bother to play dumb. "It was nothing, Jack. Just an accident of timing."

"Bullshit," Jack said comfortably. "How long were you and Teal'c standing on the porch listening in?"

"Teal'c would never listen to a private conversation."

"Fine, how long did _you_ stand on the porch and listen in while Teal'c waited at the bottom of the steps?" He didn't really need an answer- he'd heard the car pull up, the two sets of footsteps crunching along the gravel driveway, even if Carter hadn't been paying attention. He'd still like to hear Daniel say it, though.

"Long enough," Daniel said, which was an answer of a sort. Daniel knew that Jack had known he was there; Daniel knew how aware Jack was of his surroundings to the exact degree; Daniel knew exactly what he was asking and what he wanted to hear. Daniel knew what he needed and he gave it to him. Just like Daniel had known that he hadn't wanted to be trapped into that conversation with Carter, so Daniel had gotten him out. Simple, to Daniel's thinking.

Not so simple at all, to Jack's.

"You know she wasn't talking about what you think she was talking about," Daniel said. "Not everything is about you."

Jack crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against his front door. "It sounded an awful lot like it was about me."

"Sam's not in love with you, Jack," Daniel said. "She didn't wish that it was her on the planet because of some big romantic ideal." Jack winced, and hoped Daniel didn't notice. "She just doesn't want to lose anyone else. You of all people should be able to understand that."

Jack remembered the inside of Carter's mind, all of the gears turning like well-oiled clockwork and behind it, the raw screaming pain of loss, of grief and sorrow and heartbreak. Jack understood that better than he liked. "I know," he said. "I get it. Doesn't mean I wanted to have that conversation. Any road it took, it would've gone someplace it shouldn't."

"Fair enough," Daniel said, and shrugged. "Any way. I should get back to the Mountain. I've got a few things I want to look over."

"You're not gonna be able to save me, Danny. Not this time."

Daniel slid his hands into his pockets and looked mild, which meant that he was sliding into Phase Three of stubborn, which meant that wild horses or a Goa'uld mother ship couldn't drag him where he didn't want to go. "We'll see. I should get out of your hair anyway, let you enjoy a little peace and quiet." A rueful little smile played over his lips. "Didn't mean to spring a party on you. I know you've probably got some things you want to take care of."

"Yeah, I do." The most important was standing right in front of him. "But that doesn't mean that you have to go just yet."

Daniel blinked. Jack wondered what was going on in that head of his, what facts and theories and wild ideas were being processed at light speed while Jack stood there, heart in his mouth, waiting for an answer.

It was slow in coming, and Daniel was equally slow in speaking, handling each syllable with care. "Jack, what's this about? Is this about back on the planet?"

"Sort of," Jack said. He fiddled with the collar of Daniel's jacket. "I made the right call. You're not gonna pull a Carter or anything on me, are you?"

"No," Daniel said. "I know your excuse was bullshit, because I have three people on staff who can speak Ancient fluently and another two who can read and write it, but no, I'm not going to contest your decision. Agree with it? No. But it's a little late to argue, don't you think?"

Daniel's voice was all very calm, very mild, and Jack had a better idea, now, of the things that were roiling beneath the surface. "Fine, you're right. It was a bullshit excuse. But I still couldn't risk you against that thing."

"I was actually the logical choice, since I was previously Ascended and might have had some kind of ability to sort through the information that you wouldn't be able to-"

"Daniel," Jack interrupted.

"Jack?"

"I might not make it through this," Jack said. He held up a hand before Daniel could protest. "And that's fine. But you going off and dying again? Kind of not fine."

"You don't know that… I…" Daniel trailed off. "You're trying to tell me something," he said. "You were making a point."

"At the time? Fuck, no. I wasn't even thinking."

Daniel nodded, absorbing the information. "But you're trying to make a point now," Daniel said. "You're trying to tell me that it wasn't something you thought about, you just reacted and put yourself between me and-" He stopped, and Jack knew that he got it. "Jack," he said, fondly. "And you had the nerve to accuse Sam of making the big romantic gesture?"

Jack hunched his shoulders. "I wasn't gonna lose you again, Daniel. Simple as that."

"Kind of not," Daniel said. He took a step closer, staring at Jack wonderingly. "Jesus, Jack. All these years. I thought you'd never figure it out."

Jack inhaled heavily for a deep sigh of relief and let Daniel's coat slide to the floor. Daniel wasn't going to run. This was going to be okay. "Well, you weren't exactly advertising."

"Well, you know. I was trying to be subtle."

"Subtle, huh?"

Daniel was starting to smile. "Yes, Jack. Subtle. You have heard of the concept?"

"Yes, smartass." Jack took a step forward. They were about two feet apart now. Practically nothing at all. "I might have gotten it earlier if you had been a little _less_ subtle."

Daniel's face shadowed at the reminder of Jack's giant ticking deadline. "Yes, well. How did you figure it out, anyway?"

Jack looked away. "You remember PX3-796?"

"The drought people? Something pissed you off, you never would say what it was."

"The leader woman, Jirna. She could read minds."

Daniel was silent for a long moment. "Oh."

"She wanted to prove that our way of life was faulty, keeping secrets was wrong- basically trying to justify her own mindfucks. She forced me to see the secrets that my team was keeping."

"Including the fact that I'm in love with you," Daniel said, and Jack was impressed. He said it with barely a tremor, nothing to indicate that it was probably the most frightening thing he'd done in his life. Jack knew better, though, and he rewarded it with a smile and another step forward. Definitely in each other's personal space now.

"Including that," Jack said. "And the way you keep running interference with me and women."

Daniel had the good grace to blush at that, and Jack chuckled. "I have to give you credit. I never could have pulled off half the stuff you pulled, and I never suspected a thing."

"Someday I'll tell you about the things I did when I was Ascended," Daniel muttered, still blushing. Jack thought about the one and only time he'd brought Kerry back to his house- and something had spooked her so bad she'd refused to return. He was looking forward to hearing Daniel tell it, but he could probably guess.

"Subtle, huh?" Jack said. Daniel looked up at him and smiled.

"Subtle," he confirmed.

"Good to know," Jack said, and kissed him.

end.


End file.
